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It is the moment Theresa May aims to reboot her premiership after endless leadership speculation over the summer. But the Prime Minister’s unity drive at Tory conference could be scuppered by the presence of her great political rival – George Osborne.

The former chancellor, who she sacked within hours of entering No 10, has been granted a pass for the gathering in October, it can be revealed.

Mr Osborne also used an interview during the election with BBC Radio 4 to call Theresa May’s social care proposals “badly thought through”Credit:
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One editorial said the recent Tory election campaign had “meandered from an abortive attempt to launch a personality cult around Mrs May to the self-inflicted wound of the most disastrous manifesto in recent history”.

Mr Osborne also used an interview during the election with BBC Radio 4 to call Mrs May’s social care proposals “badly thought through”.

It is not known whether the pair plan to meet during the conference.

There are wider concerns that the conference could also be hijacked by ministers ­attempting to show off their leadership credentials to members.

Some of the 2010 and 2015 intake of Tory MPs want Mrs May’s eventual ­replacement as leader to be from among their generation to freshen the party’s image.